Damon Wayans Jr And Jake Johnson To Front Comedy Caper Let's Be Cops

The buddy cop comedy is a tried and true formula where you pair two polar opposites as partners then watch the sparks fly as they save the day and explode at each other. (Riggs!) But the newly greenlit comedy Let's Be Cops offers a new twist on this time-tested narrative, providing two best-bud protagonists who aren't actually policemen. They are just pretending to be cops for kicks. Of course impersonating a cop is a serious crime, but what's worse is when these two dressed-up dummies end up enraging a real mobster.

Deadline reports 20th Century Fox bought the pitch for this project from Luke Greenfield, who will direct and co-wrote the script with Nick Thomas. Filling the film's lead roles are television stars Damon Wayons Jr. (Happy Endings) and Jake Johnson (New Girl). Casting for the rest of the feature's roles is currently underway.

Personally, I have high hopes for this buddy cop comedy. While I'm not much of a New Girl watcher, I found Johnson intriguing in the time-travel rom-com Safety Not Guaranteed, in which he played a smug jerk with a vulnerable/romantic center. And concerning Wayans, it's about damn time he got noteworthy movie role!

First off, if you're not watching Happy Endings, you have my sympathies, but let me fill you in. While Wayans' uncles have been making one dumb spoof after another, DWJ has been delivering hysterical performances as Brad Williams on the sassy sitcom week after week, whether he's warring with his type-A personality wife, palling around with his frumpy gay bff, or indulging in his passion for romantic comedies or deeply tucked shirts. Here's a brief gif of his awesomeness in action:

The only worrisome sign on paper is Greenfield, who has helmed such uninspired and critically scorned offerings as The Animal, The Girl Next Door and Something Borrowed.. However, Greenfield's most recent credits were a couple of truly hilarious episodes of the surprisingly delightful, alien-centered sitcom The Nieghbors. So maybe he's evolving as a comedy crafter.